The present invention relates to herpes virus, and more particularly, to medical treatments for herpes virus, mouth ulcers and other microbial infections.
Herpes simplex virus (HSV) commonly referred to as “herpes virus” or “herpes,” is an infectious disease which has reached crisis proportions nationally with estimated numbers of infected people at 70%-80% of our population as reported by the American Social Health Association (ASHA) and growing annually by 500,000 people or more. There are two common types of herpes: herpes simplex virus 1 (HSV 1) and herpes simplex virus 2 (HSV 2).
Herpes enters the human body through minuscule breaks in the epidermal tissue usually by contact with an infected host and is marked by eruption of one or more vesicles, usually in groups, following an incubation period of approximately four to ten days. Typically the course of the infectious outbreak initiates with the prodromal stage; advancing to vesicular eruption; followed by: ulceration; coalescing; resolution; and the latency period. The outbreak can last for several weeks and on average lasts two-three weeks. In some immune compromised individuals the outbreak can last for months. The vesicles can appear anywhere on the skin or mucosa, typically appearing on the lips as cold sores, glands, oral mucosa, conjunctiva and cornea, genitalia, anal mucosa and perianal tissue.
Herpes symptoms include: inguinal swelling, pain, fever, malaise, headaches, muscle aches, and swollen glands. Some individuals with trigeminal nerve affected oral herpes, have excruciating facial pain, difficulty swallowing, eating and facial swelling. Individuals with the sacral nerve affected have severe upper leg pain, swelling, and great difficulty walking.
Herpes simplex virus (HSV) infection is recrudescent, residing in the nerve ganglia, and then recurring due to some, as yet unknown, stimulus. Recurrent herpetic infections can be precipitated by almost anything, including: overexposure to sunlight; nutritional deficiencies; stress, menstruation; immunosuppression; certain foods; drugs; febrile illness; etc. Recently herpes virus was isolated from cardiac tissue.
HSV 1 and HSV 2 infections pose very serious health threats often causing: blindness; increased cancer risk of the cervix; aseptic meningitis and encephalitis; neonatal deaths; viremia; etc. The devastating effects of this disease go well beyond the medical scope of human suffering; HSV is responsible for serious psychological and emotional distress as well as substantial economic loss to the nation and the world.
Various treatments for herpes have been proposed and have included topical application of such agents as povodone-iodine, idoxuridine, trifluorothymidine, or acyclovir. Such treatments have met with varying degrees of success. Most prior treatments have proven disappointing. Acyclovir, taken orally for systemic treatment of HSV, is somewhat effective. However, acyclovir is only successful in interrupting the replication of the virus and is used to treat infectious outbreak systemically. Nothing to date has proven really effective topically. Strains resistant to acyclovir have been reported. Individuals with Auto Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS) are seriously immune-compromised and suffer especially debilitating outbreaks of HSV. Additionally, AIDS individuals may carry acyclovir resistant strains of HSV, which can make acyclovir ineffective for these individuals.
Despite the common occurrence of mouth ulcers and vast amounts of research, the cause of these irritating sores is still not completely understood. However, by far and away the most common cause is the infection of an injury in the mouth. These injuries can be cuts, abrasions or burns.
mouth ulcer affects the softer areas of the mouth, for example the tongue and cheeks. The surface layer of the skin is removed leading to the formation of the ulcer which usually appears circular with a yellow or white center and a raised red rim. It is because of the removal of the skin layer that nerve cells are exposed causing the associated pain.
Yeast infections can occur on numerous parts of the body. Some of the most common type of yeast infections are those which occur in the mouth or in vaginal area in women. Yeast infections are caused by an overgrowth of the Candida albicans fungus, which is a naturally occurring organism that normally lives quite harmlessly in your vagina, rectum, digestive tract and mouth. However, changes in a person's body can cause this fungus to proliferate, leading to a yeast infection. Yeast infection causes include the use of steroid containing medications or antibiotics, diabetics having elevated blood sugar levels, and the use of hormonal contraceptives.